The Blues take their six-game winning streak to Northampton this weekend as they look to cement their place in the division's promotion mix.
There'll be plenty of familiar faces with former-boss Keith Curle and coaches Colin West and Dan Watson now in place at Sixfields.
Striker Kevin van Veen, who scored against Carlisle in August, has moved back to Scunthorpe at the start of this transfer window, and there's expected to be more movement, both in and out, as the new manager seeks to make his mark.
Last Saturday saw the Cobblers miss out on a point, as Forest Green snatched a late winner, and that brought an end to a run of five games unbeaten in the league. Four of those games, incidentally, were stalemates as Northampton established themselves as a team which is now very hard to beat.
With van Veen gone for an undisclosed fee, Andy Williams and Matt Crooks remain the players to watch in a side which likes to get the ball down and attack.
Click HERE for full ticket and parking information at the Sixfields Stadium.
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Manager’s thoughts ...
Speaking ahead of the game, joint caretaker boss Paul Murray said: "There's obviously added interest with Keith having been with us last season, and with our manager situation as it is now.
"To be honest, that's outside the club, and it doesn't really affect us. We have a job to do and we'll be going down there to do just that.
"Confidence is high at the moment, but we know that Keith has got his team galvanised and playing really well. They're very hard to beat, and we know they'll be looking to turn draws into wins so that they can get on with climbing the table.
"As usual we'll respect the opposition, but we'll go there looking to play our game as well. We've seen what we can achieve when we all do our jobs and we all want to keep this run going for as long as we possibly can.
"We've got ourselves into a great position, but we've achieved nothing yet. We know there's a lot of work still to do."
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Did You Know?
+ The Cobblers signed Walter Tull, the league’s first ever black outfield player – and, incidentally, the first ever black officer in the British Army – from Spurs in October 1911. He became a club legend, complete with his own statue, but sadly died at the second battle of the Somme during World War 1.
+ The club’s lowest ever league attendance was at the old County Ground for a 2-0 home defeat at the hands of Chester City during the 1984/85 season. 945 fans turned out to watch the game – the only time a league crowd ever dropped below 1,000.
+ The first ever game at the new Sixfields Stadium venue was a 1-1 draw with Barnet on Saturday 15 October 1994. The fixture was played out in front of a capacity crowd.
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Head to Head
The sides have met a total of 41 times over the years, with Northampton slightly edging it in terms of victories.
|
Carlisle wins |
Draws |
Northampton wins |
|
|
League |
12 |
14 |
15 |
|
Total |
12 |
14 |
15 |
Our last meeting was at the start of this season when the teams played out a 2-2 draw. Jamie Devitt gave the Blues the lead with a stunning strike on the half hour, but Kevin van Veen pulled things level just before the break. Matt Crooks put the visitors ahead midway through the second half, but the lead lasted just 60 seconds as Hallam Hope struck back in the very next attack.
Watch the highlights from that game here:
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Man in the middle:
The referee for this game is Mr Lee Swabey. Lee has taken charge of 16 games so far this season showing 53 yellow cards and two reds.
We last saw him for our Emirates FA Cup first round game away at Crewe Alexandra in November, where Jamie Devitt got a deflected 90th minute goal to put us through to the second round.
Anthony Gerrard, Jamie Devitt, Richie Bennett and Jerry Yates were the United names taken on the day.
Referee - Lee Swabey
Assistant Referee 1 - Carl Fitch-Jackson
Assistant Referee 2 - Paul Graham
Fourth Official - Steven Plane
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Ticket information:
Click HERE for full ticket information.
Click HERE to purchase your tickets online.
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